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While legal technology is being leveraged by more law firms and being taught to more law students in the U.K., observers say those solutions are mostly geared toward commercial law and not the legal needs of the country's citizens and small businesses.

The Legal Access Challenge, a new legal tech challenge launched by nonprofit Nesta in partnership with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, is looking to change that. The competition, which started Wednesday, seeks to encourage access to justice legal tech development in the country.

Those with early or proof-of-concept stage solutions can submit an application until Aug. 11 on the competition's website. The judging panel, which will consist of individuals with entrepreneurial, technology, regulatory and access to justice experience, will pick four finalists. Nesta noted that the names of the judges will be published online after the application deadline closes. 

In September, Nesta will also name the finalists and give them £50,000 each and assistance to help bring their product to market. Nesta Challenges' head of better markets Chris Gorst noted the assistance provided hasn't been specified. The winner is scheduled to be announced in March or April 2020 and will receive an additional £50,000. 

Applicants will be judged on the “impact that solution will have on people or small businesses, evidence the team is capable of creating the solution and [their ability to] get it into peoples' or small businesses' hands,” Gorst said. Additionally, solutions will also be judged by their level of innovation in U.K. legal services.

The Legal Access Challenge marks the first legal technology competition for Nesta and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which regulates solicitors in England and Wales. The SRA said the challenge represents the regulator's broader goal of ensuring solicitors meet its standards and to help the agency evolve to resolve legal challenges.

“Our job is to make sure that everyone can trust that solicitors and law firms meet the high standards we all expect, as well as creating an environment that can offer people affordable, accessible legal services,” said Solicitors Regulation Authority chair Anna Bradley. “But I know that far too many people and small businesses can't get legal help when they need it, so they can't defend or enforce their rights.”

Indeed, according to a survey released by Nesta Challenges, 58% of citizens in Wales and England say the legal system is not set up for ordinary people. What's more, 68% said high cost, followed by the uncertainty of the cost (56%) and knowing who to trust (37%), were key barriers to legal access for English and Welsh citizens.

That perception, Nesta said, was its reasoning for partnering with SRA and hosting the Legal Access Challenge. 

The challenge also seeks to bring together a community of organizations that share an interest in innovating legal services for consumers and small businesses, Gorst added. Additionally, Nesta will work with the SRA to identify any regulatory barriers that are impending innovations to address legal gaps.

While Nesta will handle the day-to-day activities of the challenge, the SRA's £700,000 grant from the U.K. government's Regulators' Pioneer Fund, which it received in 2018, is being used to finance the challenge's rewards.